


How You Are

by LyriaFrost



Series: OT6 AU [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-04 22:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaFrost/pseuds/LyriaFrost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a series of short character studies and little introspective pieces that I wrote.  These all fit into my OT6 AU series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ryan

Ryan had the most curious sleeping habits out of all the boys. He was a notorious insomniac, sleeping at most 4 or 5 hours in a night, but being perfectly cognizant the next morning. It seemed that his body just needed very little sleep, and he could not remember a time when his sleep patterns had been different. When he had lived with his parents, he would simply hang out in his room for hours by himself. Now that he had all his lovers, at least one of them was always awake to pass the time with. Geoff and Jack stayed up late, usually playing games together. Gavin tended to fall asleep early, but he also woke up in the early hours of the morning. Ray was usually awake then for an hour or so before falling asleep again. 

Gavin and Ryan usually opened up the store before school, going in early to make sure everything was set up for Geoff and Jack's parents when they came down. So his sleep schedule really didn't cause any problems, and now he had all his lovers to keep him company in those sleepless hours. On the nights they all stayed together, someone was almost always awake with him, but he was perfectly content to just lay there and marvel at the five wonderful people who wanted to share their lives with him. 

They seemed so different when they were sleeping. Gavin was completely still in sleep, so much so that all of his lovers had been scared from time to time, thinking he was dead instead. Michael was a cuddler, he always gravitated towards the other people in the bed, and wrapped himself around them even in his sleep. Ray would somehow end up halfway down the bed, often with his head on someone's stomach, only distinguishable by the lump he left under the blankets. Geoff had the habit of pulling his lovers closer to him, often wrapping his arms around as many as he could reach and puling them close. Jack liked to sleep on the edge of the bed because he frequently woke up in the night and didn't want to disturb the others. Ryan often found himself sitting up against the headboard, Geoff pressed tightly to his left side, Ray sleeping on Geoff and Jack next to them. Gavin slept on the other side of Ryan, with Michael wrapped tightly around him. 

When all of them were in one bed, Gavin would sleep a little later, but he always woke up ridiculously early. He had a curious way of waking up, just like how he slept, where he would simply open his eyes and be completely awake. He could also fall asleep anywhere he chose, in only a few minutes. So when he opened his eyes, he would smile at Ryan and scoot up to sit next to him, rearranging Michael so that the curly-haired boy was still wrapped around him. They would sit and talk, eventually get up without disturbing the others, and go make breakfast if they didn't have to open the store. Sometimes Ray would join them, but usually no one came out until they smelled the food. 

Ryan loved all of it. He loved having company at night just as much as he loved watching his lovers sleep. When he was alone in his own room at night, he enjoyed the phone conversations, playing videogames until the others had all passed out and it was just him alone. He loved the quiet time to think before he went back into a loud day full of rambunctious lovers, long classes, and shifts at the grocery store. He didn't mind not sleeping, because his waking hours were full of such nice things.


	2. Michael

Michael was afraid of his rage. He could remember being a very small child, hearing his father yelling and throwing things and hitting his mother. Then suddenly, his dad wasn't there anymore, and his mom said they were going to live in a new place, and he could make new friends there and go to a new school. But Daddy wouldn't be coming with them, Daddy wasn't going to be around anymore. Michael was confused, but he trusted his mom, so he went willingly enough. 

Now that he was older, he could understand that his father was a mean, abusive drunk. His mother took him and ran away when she couldn't take it anymore, eventually filing for divorce against the man. But now, Michael was deathly afraid that he was going to be like his father. He had that same horrible rage, and it scared him. 

Sometimes he would be arguing with Gavin, wrestling and yelling, and suddenly he would get the urge to do more, to hurt the other boy. He would suddenly stop and pull away, tucking himself into a small ball so he wouldn't be tempted to do anything. Gavin would sigh and sit down across from him, just out of arm's reach. After one very drunk night with just the two of them, Gavin knew exactly what he was afraid of, and he knew how to help. He would just sit there and talk, sometimes about how much he loved Michael, what an incredible person Michael was, and eventually just about anything he could think of to babble on about. And Michael would listen to the steady chatter and use it to ground himself, to fold up the rage and tuck it away again. 

He never wanted to hurt any of his lovers, and Gavin knew how to spot the signs and get Michael out of a tough situation. The Jersey boy suspected that Gavin may have told the others some of his story, but he trusted all of them to help him, and knew they deserved to know what they were dealing with. So far he had gotten by without any of his fears coming true, but he was constantly on edge. He didn't know what he would do if he hurt someone he loved, he wouldn't be able to live with himself after that. Many times he had thought of leaving before he could, but his boys always seemed to know what he was thinking, sometimes before he did, and they reassured him and loved him and cared for him. He was afraid of his rage, afraid of becoming his father, but he knew that he had five wonderful people by his side who would help him keep that from ever happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any prompts or ideas for stories that fit with these, I'm more than happy to try my best! I like getting feedback and ideas from people about my stories!


	3. Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little vague, but more of the backstory to this one is explained in my story Past Life.

Ray sometimes got very confused when he work up in a bed with anywhere from one to five other people. It was rare for him to sleep alone, but that didn't make it any less strange. He'd have dreams of being back in New York, cowering in his room, hiding from his dad, taking care of his mom when she was passed out from the drugs and booze. When he woke up, he'd expect to see dingy walls, dirty floors, cheap and stained sheets. Instead, there were his dark red walls and warm black blankets. There'd be a warmth on his back, an arm wrapped around him, hot breath on his ear or neck. Usually it was Michael, the boy almost always slept at his place since he lived nearby and the Jersey boy's mom worked all night. 

He would just lay there in the dim morning light, watching his phone light up with texts from Ryan (the guy who never slept) or Gavin (the kid who woke up before the sun), unless one or both of them was there with him. It took a while for him to realize that he was here, not in New York anymore. This was his life, the dreams were the past now. He didn't know how he had gained six wonderful lovers who made him feel safe and loved for the first time ever. He had an awesome foster dad, was getting a good education, and could finally live as a normal teenager. Ray was sure that he didn't deserve most of this, but he sure was glad that he had it all. It was impossible to imagine going on without it anymore. So he'd usually grab his phone, text Gavin and Ryan for a while, cuddle back against the warm body behind him, and fall back asleep with a smile on his face.


	4. Geoff and Jack

Sometimes Geoff and Jack just needed to get away from everything. Not to say that they weren't incredibly happy with having four additional lovers, it was pretty damn perfect. But it had started out with just the two of them, it had always been the two of them for as long as they could both remember. And sometimes they just really needed to get back to that. They'd usually just take a night off, go out to a bar and raise some hell, go back home and pass out in Jack's room just like old times. Sometimes, they just needed to remind themselves and each other that things hadn't exactly changed. True, they had many more people they loved and cared about now, but nothing had changed the fact that they loved each other. Making room in their hearts for four more hadn't meant squeezing each other out at all. At times, they both just wanted to feel like they weren't growing up, being responsible adults now. They just wanted to be two young teenagers, crazy in love and running wild through the streets. 

Except that things weren't like old times anymore. Having younger lovers to watch out for had mellowed both of them somewhat. They were more careful with themselves, tried not to get into too much trouble because the one time they had come home beaten and covered in blood had significantly distressed all the others. So they had fun, but careful fun, choosing their battles with care. They'd drive out to Austin, have more than a few drinks, and somehow still manage to get home in one piece. 

The biggest change was that they weren't alone anymore. When they woke up in the morning, both incredibly hungover with the worst headaches, there would be Gavin. When he wanted to, the boy could be incredibly silent. He would bring in breakfast and have meds and juice waiting for them. It was nice, waking up in agony and having someone there to help them out, even if it was their own fault for going out and drinking so much. Ray would come over a little later, play videogames quietly and just cuddle with them. Gavin would lay around, doing his homework, Ryan would come and help him, and Michael would show up bringing some kind of greasy fast food for lunch. Geoff and Jack would sit around with each other, watching their lovers, and know that after their fun nights out, their returns to the past, they would come back to something that was infinitely better.


End file.
